Weeks 4-5

1. Seizures: none
2. Tummy problems: none
3. Headaches: none
4. Steroids: halved the dose. Sleeping better, still look like Bubbles DeVere.
5. Wine consumption: low
6. Chocolate consumption: high.
7. Motor function on right side: very good
8. Dysphasia: non-existent
9. General feeling of wellbeing: excellent
10. Online shopping: nil

I have kept this week quiet, concentrating on wedding planning and rest rather than doing too much in the way of coffee and lunches, and as a result, a few of you have been asking where I've been. The house has been busy, with my Navy brother and his girlfriend arriving from Gibraltar; the day they left, #1 Daughter arrived on her way to Geneva, and I made meatballs for one of Darcey's playdates.

As i have said before, I am not a hero, and by the end of this week, it became apparent that I haven't done quite enough to promote healing and keep my lowered immune system safe. I enjoyed a Friday night Curry and Movie night with supernanny, while Nearly Husband went out with the boys. In gales of laughter, Amanda took photos of the back of my head so I could see the extent to which my hair has gone very patchy. It's like a monk's tonsure in reverse and I'm not surprised Darcey hates it. Anyway, as she was taking the pics, Amanda asked me if I knew my scar hadn't healed up properly - and that was news to me.

Over the weekend, I kept looking at it and realised by Sunday that even I could see clearly that I had a hole in my head. Which I needed like a hole in the head, frankly. Cue discussions between surgeons in Oxford and Oncologist in Reading on Monday morning and by that afternoon, I had a call from the bed manager in Oxford telling me they had a bed for me and I was on the surgical list for that night. I have a minor staphylococcus infection on my scalp, and the threat of that "colonising" - the sound of which was enough to make me acquiesce!

So here I am, on the first day of Week 5, back in hospital. This was not supposed to happen and now means my second phase of treatment has to be postponed for a little while. This is not good; the second phase is more focused, directed radiation to specific parts of my tumour, and the whole process has a cumulative effect, so stopping now must be for a short time only.

24 hours of being nil by mouth and on a drip, and I'm out of surgery. The good news is they have removed the reservoir because the cyst has gone! Hurrah! The bad news is they want me to stay in for a couple of days while micro-biology culture what they found - one "rod" of something unrecognisable. So Wednesday came and went; I was visited by a group of medical students who'd been told I was a good person to talk to; so I gave them my life story until their eyes glazed over. I started this blog, slept a lot and generally enjoyed a little bit of peace and quiet in my little side room. After a day and a half of regular observations - temperature, blood pressure etc - it became apparent that whatever bug had been found in my head was not making me clinically ill in any way, so I decided Thursday had to be the day of departure. Besides that, Nearly Husband and I were off for a long weekend on the Friday!

You can imagine the scene then on the Thursday morning when the Registrar tried to tell me that dependent on the outcome from micro-biology I might need to stay in another night. I pointed out that there were many more very sick people on the ward, I did not need nursing, and I absolutely was going home that day, and not taking up the bed for another night. By then I had learned that my radiotherapy could restart on the following Monday and I am pleased to say as I am writing this now, that the additional radiation did not lead to another breakdown in the scar which has healed very nicely.